It’s spring for the manager of the North West Co-operative Weed Management Area. That means Dave Whitehead is out drumming up interest in the goals of the organization and visiting municipalities in a bid for them to renew their membership.
The former government agrologist recently made his yearly presentation to Battleford Town Council, a municipality that has struggled with one of four main weeds the WMA has been working to control – leafy spurge.
The four municipalities that have been associated with the CWMA are the RM of North Battleford, City of North Battleford, RM of Battle River and the Town of Battleford. They have been involved since the CWMA’s inception in 2009.
In Battleford, said Whitehead, the parks and recreation staff should continue with the important work it has been doing to control leafy spurge.
In addition to benefiting the town, he said, those efforts also help to control the spread of the weed to the RM of Battle River.
He reported, “I believe that, if the Town had not continued to spray, the Flats, for instance, could eventually be solid leafy spurge.”
As CWMA manager, Whitehead does field work including the delivery of education and strategy on controlling invasive weeds with land developers, municipal employees, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways, CN and private land owners.
In addition, the CWMA has made use of GPS technology for site analysis and retaining seasonal records.
The weed management area was initiated as a demonstration project in 2008 by the District No. 34 Agricultural Development and Diversification (ADD) Board using a Native Plant Society grant of $15,000. Municipal memberships have helped keep the group going.
Whitehead said additional funds have been made available by Trans Gas, which has become an advocate for the CWMA. They have provided $7,000 in funding over three years. A DVD on leafy spurge was one of the several projects that funding has made possible.
SaskPower has also contributed, he said. A $3,500 contribution is being used for education projects, such as trade show banners and brochures on invasive plants.
